Plan for the future<\/b><\/p>\n

Appropriate planning in the gestational phase will certainly help you in the sleep-deprived times that lay ahead, though be prepared for an element of unexpected randomness that will upset your status quo \u2013 this often occurs when you least expect it.<\/p>\n

Comfort can be found in friends and trusted professionals who have experienced many of these events previously. Much like how parents can be a sounding board for issues you encounter with your children, professionals who have experienced the early startup phase can provide you with the insights and guidance you need to get through this difficult period. Your own professional experience is another asset. Draw on this, and the insights you have gathered from mentors of the past. You may have underestimated the depth of those insights when first you encountered them, but now they can hold you in good stead.<\/p>\n

The birth of your startup will be recognised by the emergence of your idea beyond a concept and into a physical being.<\/p>\n

Listen to experts<\/b><\/p>\n

Just as you rely upon expert medical and other professional advice during your gestational phase, so too should you rely upon expert professional tax and advisory advice in planning and structuring your startup. \u00a0Professionals have earned their experience through years of real-life learnings \u2013 respect their knowledge and be open to the possibilities. \u00a0In choosing your advisers, be careful to test their appropriateness to give you independent advice in an empathetic manner, in parenting terms this can often be \u201ctough love\u201d and measured as giving you what you need rather than what you want. It is great if the two outcomes align, but be prepared for situations where they don\u2019t and understand how you will react to that.<\/p>\n

In the conception phase, focus on adopting the correct corporate structure for your early stage business and be ESIC Ready to prevent adverse outcomes when your bundle of joy arrives. \u00a0Too often we see startup businesses using structures that are inappropriate and could have benefited from better planning during the pre-birth phase.<\/p>\n

An African proverb says it takes a village to raise a child. \u00a0We suggest it takes a village to develop a startup.<\/p>\n